Otovo, a Norway-based operator of an online marketplace for solar, storage, and wall boxes, has announced plans to lay off about 170 employees.
The company, which operates in 13 European countries, employed 384 people at the end of 2023. CEO Andreas Thorsheim said on LinkedIn that Otovo aims to save between NOK 200 million ($18.4 million) and NOK 225 million through the job cuts.
In the first half of 2024, Otovo's sales fell from approximately NOK 592 million to NOK 322 million compared to the same period last year. The company's loss after taxes increased to around NOK 197 million, up from about NOK 142 million in the first two quarters of the previous year.
“We are now taking a new course with a leaner setup and are therefore taking a lower-risk approach. And in a way that we hope preserves options and allows us to maintain implementation in the near future,” said Thorsheim.
Thorsheim said the layoffs are necessary to achieve profitability in the current market environment. In the 2023 annual report, he noted that the company was poorly positioned amid a general decline in demand in Europe. Otovo holds the largest market share in countries with slowing expansion and small shares in regions with strong growth. Its share price has fallen by 97% over the past year.
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